flash fiction writers

Marbled streams of fire shifted and wound through hissing clouds of acrid smoke. Fissures broke open like wounds, finding each other and melting into flickering rivers before swollen dams of black rock rolled across and cut them from the night sky.

A maelstrom swirled high above, peppering the shifting rock with ashen pumice as forks of lightning shruck at the ground.

The old man looked on, fingers tightening in his palms. Tears fell at the beauty of it. His heart broke as children screamed.

One last toll of the church bell broke the air.

Fire leapt. The screams stopped.

(c) Tim Austin 2016. Image by Yosh Ginsu via Unsplash.

Pompeii sprang to mind when I read “Intense”. There was a man who witnessed it and survived – Plinny the Younger. It’s hard to imagine how terrible it was for him to see.

Today’s story title was donated by fellow blogger and author Angelica Kidd, who is just beginning her submission for NanoWrimo as of yesterday! Follow her progress at https://angelicakidd.wordpress.com/.

Today’s story title was donated by the wonderful K.M. Joshi – graphic designer and musician. You can find him and follow him (you stalkers, you!) over on Twitter @AuthorKMJoshi. Suggest your own one word title by popping a comment below or tweeting me @timaustin2k and the next story could be yours!

Oh, and don’t forget to hit that “follow” button, below and to the right, for daily stories!

The flames lapped at the wood and circled in the thinning air. A large crowd was watching as the fire danced and swelled, entranced by the hypnotic sweep of the blaze.

Music was playing loud and children were dancing. Cold boxes filled with beer gleamed in the firelight. The field was full of people talking and laughing together as the last rays of the day sank below the horizon.

The sheriff stepped forward, his hand lifting a microphone to continue his speech.

“Black Lives Matter, they say,…..” The crowd was laughing.

The children played and watched the white crosses burn.

(c) Tim Austin 2016. Image by Thomas Shellberg via Unsplash.

The first image that came to mind with this word was the KKK. It is a stain on humanity that this group still exists and that any group like this still exists. But it does and it’s worth remembering that, in these dark times. Humanity still has a long way to go,….

I’m still on the search for new words! If you’re reading this and you want to suggest one, please do! Just pop it in the comments or Tweet it to @timaustin2k using the hashtag #onewordonestory.

Jemima’s mother was clapping her hands wildly and bouncing on her toes.

On the driveway before them sat a car. The metal and glass shone proud in the early morning sun. The fresh-from-the-factory tires lay scuff free on the brick floor.

“A BMW, Mum,…. wow,…”

“It’s all yours!” Jemima’s mother ran forward and took the teenager’s hand, guiding her towards car. The goth girl blinked.

“Soooooooo?” God, why was her mother smiling?

“So,….” Jemima saw her black skirt reflected in the paint.

“I didn’t know they made BMWs in Bubble Gum Pink,…”

(c) Tim Austin 2016. Picture by Mason Jones via Unsplash.

Today’s One Word Title was suggested by Angelica Kidd, writer of the “Life of an Aspiring Writer” blog. On reading the word, a hot pink colour sped into my mind. That probably says a lot about me but I’ll leave that to my therapist 😉

I’m on the search for new words! If you’re reading this and you want to suggest one, please do! Just pop it in the comments or Tweet it to @timaustin2k using the hashtag #onewordonestory.

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